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OMCT World Organisation Against Torture
July 31 2014
Azerbaijan: Prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus, IPD Director
and a member of OMCT General Assembly, sentenced to three months
pre-trial detention
New information
AZE 002 / 0414 / OBS 031.1
Arbitrary detention / House arrest /
Harassment
Azerbaijan
July 31, 2014
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new
information and requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in Azerbaijan.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the
arbitrary arrest and acts of harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Director
of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and a member of OMCT
General Assembly, and her husband, Mr. Arif Yunusov, Head of the
Conflictology Department of IPD.
According to the information received, on July 30, 2014, Ms. Leyla
Yunus was travelling to a press conference in the capital of Baku when
three men in civilian dress stopped her car and forced her driver to
change direction; the men confiscated the cell phones of Ms. Yunus and
the driver. Ms. Yunus was secretly driven to Department of Serious
Crimes, where prosecutors interrogated her for six hours. It was not
until several hours later that the Office of the Prosecutor General
telephoned Ms. Yunus' husband and informed him that Ms. Yunus had been
detained. Mr. Yunusov went to the Prosecutor's office and was
subsequently interrogated and detained as well.
Police eventually charged Ms. Yunus with "treason" (Article 274 of the
Criminal Code), "large-scale fraud" (Article (178.3.2), "forgery"
(Article 320), "tax evasion" (Article 213), and "illegal business"
(Article 192); Mr. Yunusov was charged with "treason" and "fraud". The
Court, however, never explained the basis for the charges, the
punishments for which ranges from heavy fines to life in prison.
The Nasimi District Court subsequently sentenced Ms. Yunus to three
months pre-trial detention while Mr. Yunusov is under house arrest due
to his health condition.
The Observatory expresses its concern about the arbitrary arrest and
harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus and Mr. Arif Yunusov, and calls upon the
authorities in Azerbaijan to put an end to any kind of harassment -
including at the judicial level - against them as it seems to only aim
at sanctioning their activities. The Observatory is also concerned by
Ms. Yunus' health in detention as she suffers from severe diabetes.
Background information:
On April 28, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus was reportedly invited as a witness
on the criminal case of journalist Rauf Mirqadirov[1] to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the Office of Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan. That evening, however, Ms. Yunus and Mr.
Yunusov were detained at the Baku Heydar Aliyev airport where
authorities confiscated their passports and seized a laptop and paper
records while denying Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov the right to see their
lawyer. They were trying to fly to Paris via Doha. An attempted search
of the Yunus apartment later that night resulted in the
hospitalization of Mr. Yunusov for a pre-stroke condition.
The next morning, April 29, 2014, Mrs. Yunus was taken to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the General Prosecutor's
Office and interrogated for nine hours, including about joint projects
of the IPD and Armenian NGOs as well as her relations with journalist
Rauf Mirqadirov. During her questioning, Ms. Yunus alleged that she
knows Mr. Mirqadirov only as a friend and good journalist. Later that
night, police searched the offices of the IPD as well as the Yunus'
private residence, confiscating several computers, books, and print
materials.
As of today, the passports of Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov have not been
returned yet.
Moreover, the day before her arrest, on July 29, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus
wrote a letter to the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev,
criticising the arrest of many critics of his regime and human rights
defenders.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and
psychological integrity of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif Yunusov as well
as of all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan;
ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Leyla Yunus from
pre-trial detention and Mr. Yunusov from house arrest, since their
detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning their human
rights activities;
iii. Remove all travel restrictions placed upon Ms. Leyla Yunus
and Mr. Arif Yunusov;
iv. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the
judicial and investigatory levels - against Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif
Yunusov, her relatives and more generally against all human rights
defenders in Azerbaijan;
v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:
- Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive
for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms at the national and international levels";
- Article 5, which underscores the right of every individual to
form, join, and participate in non-governmental organizations; and
- Article 12.2, which provides that the State shall "take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,
against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure
adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights";
vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights
standards and international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan.
Addresses:
· Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19
Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 25,
(+994) 412 92 28 68, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
· Mr. Zakir Garalov, Prosecutor General of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Prosecutor's Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku,
Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 82, (+994) 12 492 26 63, E-mail:
[email protected], [email protected]
· Mr. Eldar Mahmudov, Minister of National Security, Ministry of
National Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parliament Avenue 14,
Baku AZ1006, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 493-76-22, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Mr. Ramil Usubov, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Fax: (+994) 12 492 45 90
· Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Mr. Fikrat F. Mammadov, Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan,
Inshaatchilar Prospekti, 1 Baku, Azerbaijan, e-mail:
[email protected]; Fax (+994) 12 430 09 81
· H.E. Mr. Murad N. Najafbayli, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of
Azerbaijan to the United Nations in Geneva, Route des Fayards 237,
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland, Fax: (+41) 22 901 18 44, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Embassy of Azerbaijan in Brussels, Avenue Moliere 464, 1050
Brussels, Belgium, Fax: (+32) 2 345 91 85
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of
Azerbaijan in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic
missions or embassies in Azerbaijan.
***
Geneva-Paris, July 31, 2014
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
________________________________
[1] Mr. Rauf Mirqadirov was deprived journalist accreditation in
Turkey without any formal reason, deported to Azerbaijan and arrested
on his arrival to Baku on April 19, 2014 on charges of spying for
Armenia. This procedure permits to avoid a process of extradition and
leaves no opportunity for appeal.
Properties
Date: July 31, 2014
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Azerbaijan
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Human RightsDefenders, Threats, intimidation and harassment
OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail: [email protected]
OMCT Europe
Rue Stevin 115
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/azerbaijan/2014/07/d22777/
July 31 2014
Azerbaijan: Prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus, IPD Director
and a member of OMCT General Assembly, sentenced to three months
pre-trial detention
New information
AZE 002 / 0414 / OBS 031.1
Arbitrary detention / House arrest /
Harassment
Azerbaijan
July 31, 2014
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new
information and requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in Azerbaijan.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the
arbitrary arrest and acts of harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Director
of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and a member of OMCT
General Assembly, and her husband, Mr. Arif Yunusov, Head of the
Conflictology Department of IPD.
According to the information received, on July 30, 2014, Ms. Leyla
Yunus was travelling to a press conference in the capital of Baku when
three men in civilian dress stopped her car and forced her driver to
change direction; the men confiscated the cell phones of Ms. Yunus and
the driver. Ms. Yunus was secretly driven to Department of Serious
Crimes, where prosecutors interrogated her for six hours. It was not
until several hours later that the Office of the Prosecutor General
telephoned Ms. Yunus' husband and informed him that Ms. Yunus had been
detained. Mr. Yunusov went to the Prosecutor's office and was
subsequently interrogated and detained as well.
Police eventually charged Ms. Yunus with "treason" (Article 274 of the
Criminal Code), "large-scale fraud" (Article (178.3.2), "forgery"
(Article 320), "tax evasion" (Article 213), and "illegal business"
(Article 192); Mr. Yunusov was charged with "treason" and "fraud". The
Court, however, never explained the basis for the charges, the
punishments for which ranges from heavy fines to life in prison.
The Nasimi District Court subsequently sentenced Ms. Yunus to three
months pre-trial detention while Mr. Yunusov is under house arrest due
to his health condition.
The Observatory expresses its concern about the arbitrary arrest and
harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus and Mr. Arif Yunusov, and calls upon the
authorities in Azerbaijan to put an end to any kind of harassment -
including at the judicial level - against them as it seems to only aim
at sanctioning their activities. The Observatory is also concerned by
Ms. Yunus' health in detention as she suffers from severe diabetes.
Background information:
On April 28, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus was reportedly invited as a witness
on the criminal case of journalist Rauf Mirqadirov[1] to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the Office of Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan. That evening, however, Ms. Yunus and Mr.
Yunusov were detained at the Baku Heydar Aliyev airport where
authorities confiscated their passports and seized a laptop and paper
records while denying Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov the right to see their
lawyer. They were trying to fly to Paris via Doha. An attempted search
of the Yunus apartment later that night resulted in the
hospitalization of Mr. Yunusov for a pre-stroke condition.
The next morning, April 29, 2014, Mrs. Yunus was taken to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the General Prosecutor's
Office and interrogated for nine hours, including about joint projects
of the IPD and Armenian NGOs as well as her relations with journalist
Rauf Mirqadirov. During her questioning, Ms. Yunus alleged that she
knows Mr. Mirqadirov only as a friend and good journalist. Later that
night, police searched the offices of the IPD as well as the Yunus'
private residence, confiscating several computers, books, and print
materials.
As of today, the passports of Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov have not been
returned yet.
Moreover, the day before her arrest, on July 29, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus
wrote a letter to the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev,
criticising the arrest of many critics of his regime and human rights
defenders.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and
psychological integrity of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif Yunusov as well
as of all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan;
ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Leyla Yunus from
pre-trial detention and Mr. Yunusov from house arrest, since their
detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning their human
rights activities;
iii. Remove all travel restrictions placed upon Ms. Leyla Yunus
and Mr. Arif Yunusov;
iv. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the
judicial and investigatory levels - against Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif
Yunusov, her relatives and more generally against all human rights
defenders in Azerbaijan;
v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:
- Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive
for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms at the national and international levels";
- Article 5, which underscores the right of every individual to
form, join, and participate in non-governmental organizations; and
- Article 12.2, which provides that the State shall "take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,
against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure
adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights";
vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights
standards and international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan.
Addresses:
· Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19
Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 25,
(+994) 412 92 28 68, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
· Mr. Zakir Garalov, Prosecutor General of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Prosecutor's Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku,
Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 82, (+994) 12 492 26 63, E-mail:
[email protected], [email protected]
· Mr. Eldar Mahmudov, Minister of National Security, Ministry of
National Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parliament Avenue 14,
Baku AZ1006, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 493-76-22, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Mr. Ramil Usubov, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Fax: (+994) 12 492 45 90
· Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Mr. Fikrat F. Mammadov, Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan,
Inshaatchilar Prospekti, 1 Baku, Azerbaijan, e-mail:
[email protected]; Fax (+994) 12 430 09 81
· H.E. Mr. Murad N. Najafbayli, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of
Azerbaijan to the United Nations in Geneva, Route des Fayards 237,
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland, Fax: (+41) 22 901 18 44, E-mail:
[email protected]
· Embassy of Azerbaijan in Brussels, Avenue Moliere 464, 1050
Brussels, Belgium, Fax: (+32) 2 345 91 85
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of
Azerbaijan in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic
missions or embassies in Azerbaijan.
***
Geneva-Paris, July 31, 2014
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
________________________________
[1] Mr. Rauf Mirqadirov was deprived journalist accreditation in
Turkey without any formal reason, deported to Azerbaijan and arrested
on his arrival to Baku on April 19, 2014 on charges of spying for
Armenia. This procedure permits to avoid a process of extradition and
leaves no opportunity for appeal.
Properties
Date: July 31, 2014
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Azerbaijan
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Human RightsDefenders, Threats, intimidation and harassment
OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail: [email protected]
OMCT Europe
Rue Stevin 115
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/azerbaijan/2014/07/d22777/